Carlota Duarte, MFA, began the Chiapas Photography Project in 1992 to serve the indigenous Maya in Chiapas, the southernmost state in Mexico. Since then, over 300 indigenous men and women from different ethnic groups and religious backgrounds have learned how to use photography as a mode of personal artistic expression, and many have undertaken projects that celebrate and engage members of their communities. The CPP has gained recognition from the Mexican, American, and international press, the academic community, and the art world.

With the guidance of Chiapas Photography Project, 250 Maya photographers have documented contemporary Maya culture and lifestyle in the state of Chiapas Mexico since 1992. Over 35,000 photographs are cataloged at Archivo Fotografica Indigena, a digital archive available for anthropological research, based at a study center near San Cristobal de Las Casas. This project has been funded by the Ford Foundation since 1995.